Happy New Years!
by polysgirl
Summary: A New Years sequel to Merry Christmas Stephanie Plum. Mostly drivel, and I couldn't think of a title :


This sequels Merry Christmas Stephanie Plum. It's set before the epilogue, which is why she still has the cast.

Same standard disclaimers apply. As always, don't own em.

And I couldn't think of a title to save my life, so there isn't one. Lol.

Happy New Years!

Softly, I traced the lines of Ranger's face while he slept, his head on the pillow beside mine. As early as a week ago, this would have woken him up, at least partially. Now it had no effect on him except to relax him slightly - although it seemed all it took to relax him was for him to be touching me in some way. I trailed my fingertip across the strong lines of his cheek and jaw. He was gaining strength every day, although he was still brought down by severe exhaustion. Each day I worried about how much he slept, but I told myself to just wait, give it time. I'd never been two full weeks without sleep, before, so I couldn't compare.

After Christmas at his parents, we spent most of the next couple days in bed. Ella brought food - we were all very adamant about feeding Ranger. He bore a striking resemblance to Sin in bone stickingoutedness. So we ate, and we slept, and twice a day or so Ranger found some untapped energy store that he drew on to test out his creativity with my red velvet panties. I was never going to look be able to look at Tank the same way again.

I let my finger whisper over his lips, and then ran them through his hair. I loved how it flowed through my fingers, like fine spun silk. I loved having this quiet time with him, relaxing when he was awake, and just being near him while he slept. It was an imtimacy I'd never felt before, not even with Joe. I was still having a hard time believing that he was home, safe, and that I was still here, in his bed. So often, I found myself needing to touch him, physical proof that he wasn't just a dream.

Of course, we were almost always in contact. Even now, in deep sleep, his arm was slung across my back, anchoring me to him. And we were still connected intimately. I had noticed that he was actually more relaxed, and slept better, when he was holding me. So really, it was for Ranger's own good that I spent 90 of my days in bed with him. And if I enjoyed it, just a teeny bit more than I should have, well, it was for Ranger's own good, afterall. And while Joe and I had always woken up on our own sides of the beds, then slid over to each other, Ranger and I slept wrapped together, and it never failed that we woke tangled up in one another.

On the 28th, he went back to work for a half day. By noon he was drooping, and he went upstairs to nap. I had gone out to catch a couple of skips and got back around five, to find him sleeping fitfully on the bed. I called Ella for supper and went to wake him up, only to wind up pinned to the bed by his body while he continued to sleep, much more quietly than before. I gently prodded him awake when the food came.

"Hard day?" I asked as he ate, his movements lethargic.

"Pathetic Couldn't even last a day." he said, his displeasure at his inability to work a full day very obvious.

The next two days were the same - he worked a half day and slept the rest. It was frustrating him already, but his body just couldn't handle it. And now it was New Years Eve, and we were still languishing in bed, Ranger sleeping while I dozed on top of him, having been thoroughly loved already. I really wasn't sure I was looking forward to things going back to normal.

I was startled out of my thoughts by the shrill ring of his phone. I stretched over to the side of the bed, scrambling to reach it before it woke him up. My movement separated us as I grabbed the phone, and lifted it off the base.

'Hello?' I asked, keeping my voice as quiet as possible. Ranger was stirring slightly beside me, but if I was lucky he'd fall back asleep. He really shouldn't be working. And if he was asleep, he wouldn't go to work.

"Who's this?" a female voice asked suspiciously. Uhoh.

Not his sisters. They would have known who "this" was. Not any of his family.

"Stephanie." I said cautiously. I wondered what kind of mess this was going to be.

"Oh! Hi Steph! Guess what?"

"What, Julie?" I asked with a smile. Now I recognized her. She sounded so grown up, for a minute.

"I got a kitten!" She said excitedly. "For Christmas! He's orange and white and his name is Crash, and he's lonely right now."

"Ask her if she wants another one." Ranger whispered in my ear. Shit. He's awake.

"You are NOT giving Sin away." I turned to glare at him.

"Who's Sin?" Julie chirped in the phone.

"A kitten I rescued. She's black with blue eyes, and she really likes your dad." The kitten in question was currently stalking her way up Ranger's stomach, eyeing his nose. The last time she catapulted herself at his face to attack his nose, with all claws extended, he'd been dead to the world. He lept four feet off the bed, sending me tumbling to the floor and a howling Sin flying through the air. Sin had landed on the soft pillow that was Ranger's robe, and black silk boxers that were left on the floor. That was yesterday. Apparently she doesn't have much for memory because Ranger's nose was once again her prey.

"Babe. She's a menace."

"And your dad doesn't think much of her." I told Julie.

"Why not?"

"I think she's too much like him."

Julie giggled. "Can I email you a picture of Crash?" She asked, and then chattered a mile a minute about every other christmas gift she got, and how much she loved the books, and roller blades, that Ranger got her. But mostly the books. Turns out the kid loves to read. After I told her that I would love to see a picture of Crash, and promised to send her a picture I had of her dad and Sin, I managed to turn the phone over to Ranger, who had started to look at me with suspicion after I mentioned the picture.

I went to get out of bed while Ranger talked to Julie, but he snagged my arm and pulled me back. He shook his head, almost unnoticeably, at me. I sighed. He'd decided I wasn't going anywhere before he found out about the picture. It really was a great picture, too. Ranger had been sleeping, sprawled on his back in bed, covers up to his armpits. Sin was stretched out along his bare left shoulderblade, her head tucked under his chin, also asleep. His right hand was crossed over his body, blanketing Sin's. Of course, when I looked at the picture, I saw raw sex channeled in an incredible cuban body. But all Julie would see was her dad, snuggling with a kitten. And since Ranger didn't snuggle...well, it was really all the more special. I also had another one to send, of her eyeing a sock as she got ready to attack. She was a little panther, a mini-Ranger. And in her mind, she was deadly.

Currently she was caught in Ranger's fingers, dangling by the scruff of her neck. He'd had her like that since he started talking to Julie, leaning against the headboard, phone cradled between his ear and shoulder. He held Sin with one hand and was poking at her with the index finger of the other, antagonizing her. Like all females, she was under his spell and more than happy to be part of the game, batting her paws at his finger and trying to catch it. Truth is I was starting to think that underneath it all, Ranger has a real "big softie" streak, and I had a sneaky suspicion that he really quite liked Sin. At the moment, though, she had twisted in his fingers and kicked up her back legs, catching him in the heel of the hand with her claws. He turned his hand sideways and dumped her on the bed, where she stalked to a pillow and curled up, eyeing us and plotting her next game. I moved closer and snuggled agaisnt Ranger's side, resting my head on his chest. I could hear Julie chattering happily. Ranger was mostly silent, but then, it was hard for him to get a word in edgewise.

Julie paused as the conversation wrapped up. "Love you, Ranger...Dad." she said after the hesitation. I glanced up to see Ranger's face change, a myriad of emotions that I was only priviledge to because I was in his home, in his bed. He seemed to be choking on his words, with no idea what to say. I'd never seen him at such loss before.

"Love you too, Julie." he finally said. I could hear Julie already chattering to her mom as she hung up the phone. I gently took the receiver out of Ranger's hand and reached out to set it on the cradle.

"She's a good kid." I commented.

Ranger took a breath. "Yeah." He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tighter into him. "I'm not close to her, though. You already know that."

"Maybe you need spend a bit more time with her, be a bit more attached." The kidnapping thing, as I called it to avoid the heavier emotions that came with that time in my life, with Ranger being shot, had actually brought him and Julie into more frequent contact. Julie wanted to get to know him better, and none of them were willing to discourage it - not even Ranger.

"I'm working on it, babe." And he was. He slid us down the bed until he was lying on his back again, and then rolled on top of me to kiss me.

"You know." I complained, turning my face and breaking the kiss. "You always get the top. It's not fair."

"Babe. You're too undisciplined for the top." I narrowed my eyes at him and shoved, hard. Unfortunately, he was a lot stronger than I was, and all he did was press me deeper into the mattress with his hips...and other things... making me all hot and bothered. "Now. We have to talk."

"About what?" I asked. I knew exactly what.

"This picture you have. What is it?"

"What picture?"

"Babe." Ranger said, flexing his hips again and making me squirm underneath him.

"Not fair. You're cheating." I told him. He had just opened his mouth to deny it when the phone rang. He sighed, with definite annoyance. "You could ignore it." I said hopefully. I liked this kind of argument. It was the kind that always ended well.

"Can't ignore it. But we're not finished." He said, reaching over, which shifted him and pressed him against me just enough for the very tip of him to enter me. He plucked the phone off of the receiver and shifted back, sliding all the way in.

"Yo." he answered sharply, resting his head on the pillow beside mine, nuzzling my cheek for a second.

"Yo, ghetto bro." Celia's sarcastic voice came over the line. Turns out I can hear the conversation this way, although it was hard to concentrate with the feelings Ranger was generating. I squirmed against him, trying to get loose, but he just brought a hand down to my hips to still them. Good grief, I was going to die.

"Celia. What do you need?"

"Just wondering what you were up to."

"Was sleeping. Now, putting up with my little sister. What do you need?" He repeated.

"Ever so impatient. How's Stephanie? Am I interrupting anything?"

"Just my sleep." he told her.

"Sleep, huh? I'm interrupting something good, aren't I? Say hi to Steph, for me." She was definitely enjoying this. I could hear her amusement. I just wanted her to say waht she wanted to say and hang up - as much as I already loved Celia, this waiting thing was going to kill me.

"Celia." Ranger warned. "Get to the point."

"You'd better be coming tonight." she told him. Ranger was silent for a minute. "Carlos! Would you leave Stephanie alone and pay attention for a minute?"

"I'm not-"

"Yeah. Right. Why else would you be off in la-la land."

"I am NOT in la-la land." Ranger snarled. "I'm trying to find a way out of this thing."

"I'm telling mother you want a way out. Either you come, or you can put up with her displeasure. And Grandma Rosa will cry."

Ranger grimaced. "I'll be there." He said. He hung up the phone and groaned. "The New Years party is a big thing in the Cuban population of Newark. I'm not going to be able to get out of this. You want to come?"

"First I want..." I gasped against his mouth as he kissed me quickly. This was torture.

"No time, babe." Ranger looked pained. He pulled away from me, gently, and I almost cried as he crawled out of bed. He made a beeline for the bathroom and came out with a plastic bag for my cast, which he secured on my arm before lifting me out of bed and standing me on the floor. "Come on."

We'd taken to showering together too. Again, I loved these quiet times with him. It was also way easier to get my hair clean if he washed it. Ranger was good at washing hair - he gave the best scalp massages, his fingers rubbing erotic circles. I had never realized that the scalp was an erogenous zone...until Ranger.

"Are you sure we have to leave so soon?" I asked, moaning as I leaned into his fingers.

"Babe, it's the middle of the afternoon. This is this big freaking deal, an authentic Cuban supper, dancing, fireworks, music... it started probably about two hours ago."

Oh. Great. Wonder if there would a closet, or something, there somewhere...We could get there, spend sometime with his family, and then find somewhere to hide for a while. I could manage a closet. But I couldn't manage a whole day without finishing what we started. Ranger wasn't letting me touch him right now - he wasn't willing to risk the possibility of not leaving the shower. Plus we had to worry about my cast - no fun in the water for a while, I guess. Dressing was easier this time - I borrowed one of Ranger's cashmere sweaters again, but he grabbed my arm as I was sliding it in.

"Why exactly are you so intent on hiding this all the time?" He asked, examining the cast again. He'd been too tired, to date, to notice the whole thumb-thing. Today, though, he was looking a little more awake, and he'd just clued in to my obsession with keeping the cast well-hidden. I tried to tug my arm away, but he held it tight, then saw the offending circles. I watched his face as his eyes widened. He took my thumb and wiggled it, changing how it was positioned a few times, before breaking into a full 200-watt grin. "Babe." he said.

"It was LULA!"

Ranger tugged his sweater over my head and kissed me, before turning back to his own clothing. In no time we were out the door and in the Porsche, and I was feeling just a little bit frazzled, as if I was spinning in circles and couldn't find solid ground. Ranger did that to me a lot, but Ranger rushing off before his family could skewer him was...different - I felt so rushed that I wasn't sure I'd remembered my hair, and makeup, and everything I needed to make sure I lived up to the his family's standards for him.

"Babe." he said, as he drove out of the parking garage. "Relax. They're no different than last time. Just be yourself."

Right. "How many people are going to be at this thing?"

"For the sake of your sanity, I'm not answering that." He told me. "Now lets talk about that picture. When did you take it and exactly how badly is it going to ruin my image?"

"You were sleeping. Sin was sleeping."

"Babe, Sin sleeps twenty-five hours a day. I've been sleeping twenty-three, it seems. No surprise. When?"

"How about where? In your bed."

"Doesn't narrow things down, babe."

I sighed, and told him in as few words as possible about the picture of him and Sin.

"My image is officially shot to shit." he said, with a slight shake of his head, and we continued the trip to Newark in silence.

We pulled into the parking lot of a big hall, at the end of the long winding street Ranger's family lived on. He got out and was at my door to help me out before I had even gotten my seat belt all the way off. He helped me out of the car and escorted me into the building with his hand on the small of my back. As we entered he moved it, to loop around my waist and anchor me to his side. Good thing, too, because the instant we were inside we were engulfed in people. Everyone knew Carlos, and Carlos knew everyone. They surrounded us, speaking a hodgepodge of Spanish and English. He shook hands and answered questions, holding me tightly to him so I couldn't get swept away in the crowd. I doubted I'd ever find him again if we got separated.

Making our way further into the hall was slow going, but eventually we manage to make it to somewhere around the middle of the building. There were well over a hundred people, probably closer to three hundred, or maybe more, it was impossible to count and I couldn't keep track of anything as people milled around at an alarming rate. My heart lept in panic as someone grabbed my arm and tugged me away from Ranger.

"Celia." he barked, and I relaxed. I could deal with Celia. He tugged me back and hugged me close for a second. "Sorry babe." he said.

"Oh, let her come visit with us for a while." Celia rolled her eyes.

Ranger looked in my eyes. "Up to you." he said. I thought about it for a minute and nodded. I was pretty sure that he was going to mingle with the men, and I did want a chance to get to know his sisters better. I mean, Batman's sisters, and all. Who was I to pass up tantalizing bits of information about my man in black? "Babe." he said, and kissed me softly before letting me go. I smiled at him, and let Celia lead me off. She was as commanding as her brother, just in a different way.

"Wow. He really does love you." Celia asked as she dragged me away. "I thought so, I mean, it's the only reason he'd have brought you at Christmas, and thank God he's found someone. But I never thought I'd see Carlos in danger of being reduced to a puddle of mush. This is gonna be fun."

I wasn't so sure about that. I wasn't so sure I'd like mushy Ranger. I wasn't exactly mushy myself. And I liked Ranger just fine the way he was.

Two hours later I was still sitting at a table with Ranger's mother, grandmother, and sisters, being entertained with story after story about young Carlos. I hadn't laughed so loud in a long time. Some stories were funny, some downright hilarious, and some heartbreakingly sweet. And in his family, I could see why he became the man he did, why his moral code was so strong. And my heart opened, and loved him that much more.

As Celia told us about the time that he fell and broke his arm, trying to rescue her doll from the tree that a neighborhood gang member had tossed it in, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and I knew Ranger was close. Then, his warm hands closed gently on my shoulders and neck. "I should have known it was a bad idea to leave you with them."

I looked back at him and smiled up at his face. "Why's that?"

"They're ruining my reputation. Makes it hard to be a bad-ass."

"You and your reputation." His mother scoffed. "You need to quit worrying about your image and start worrying about your heart. You're too thin and you look tired, still. You work too hard." she said, standing and hugging him, before kissing his cheek. Like at Christmas, Ranger looked pained. I had a funny feeling he was used to the lecture about working too hard. "You feeling better yet? I don't like it when you go away on these missions. They're dangerous, these missions. I don't want to hear that my Carlito will not be returning to his loved ones." She sent me a pointed look when she said that, and I cringed inwardly. Ranger's thumbs started to rub circles on the back of my neck. "I don't want my Carlito to die for his country, I want him to live for his family."

Celia grinned at me. "He hates this lecture."

"The missions are done, mama." He told her, his voice firm but distant.

"Don't you go giving me that blank face of yours! None of that distant, ignoring business. You work too hard, Carlos."

"Mama! I've hardly worked all week!" he protested.

"Is that true?" his mother turned to me. I dropped my gaze to my lap. He'd spent all week in bed...with me. Sleeping, mostly, but still! It was embarrassing to think about with his whole family watching us.

"Yes." I answered, still looking at my hands, resting on my knees.

"Come babe." Ranger said, taking me by the hand and tugged me to my feet. "She's mine now." he told his family firmly, and no one argued as he led me away.

"Saving me?"

"And me." he shook his head.

"They love you. They want what they feel is best for you."

"Yes." he said, and then we were surrounded by people again.

0123

I was standing by the drinks table, leaning against the wall, watching the dancing. Cubans had to be the best dancers I'd ever seen. Ranger lounged beside me. We'd finished eating the most incredible supper, as the musicians got warmed up. Now they were in full swing.

"Can you dance like that?" I turned to Ranger to ask. Men, women, and children were all dancing, moving to the music as if their bodies were born to it.

"I can."

"Why aren't you?"

"Babe. I'm tired. We're here for a few more hours. And I'd rather stay with you."

I slipped my arm around his waist and hugged him, as his arm came up around my shoulders tucking me against him. I leaned against his shoulder and kept watching. He was so comfortable, it felt so right to just stand with him. Almost peaceful despite the festivity in the air.

Not long after, though, I had to visit the restroom. When I got back to the spot we'd staked out, Ranger was gone. I scanned the crowd, looking for him, but for the longest time, I couldn't see him. Then I spotted him, in the middle of the dance floor, dancing with two of his sisters. Guess he couldn't resist.

"He's fabulous on the dance floor, isn't he?" Celia said from beside me, startling me. I nodded, my eyes never leaving him. He was phenomenal. His movements were fluid and graceful, as he kept perfect time to the music, his feet moving in refined rhythm. He was loose, relaxed, and totally lost in the music. I'd never seen anything like it in my life.

"He didn't want to dance earlier." I said.

"Selena and Marissa had to drag him. He's a brilliant dancer and I know he loves it," Celia shrugged, "It's just he sometimes forgets how to cut loose."

We watched a while longer, before Celia gave me a gentle push. "Go dance with him." she said.

"I haven't the first idea how to dance like that." I told her.

"Just go. He'll teach you, he's one of the best." Celia shoved me again, and then disappeared into the crowd. I stood, lost for a moment, and then saw her move into the middle of the floor, dancing as gracefully as Ranger. I watched a minute longer, wondering how on earth I was ever going to manage to stay with him, to not make him lose that incredible rhythm. Finally, I decided to take a chance, and moved through the crowd to meet him.

His back was to me. Without letting myself think about what I was doing, I slipped my arms around his waist. He tensed for the briefest of seconds, before turning in my arms and gifting me with the most beautiful smile. "Babe." he whispered, pulling me into his arms, and into the dance. His sisters faded into the background, still dancing with wild abandon. The last I saw of them was the wide smile on Selena's face as she watched Ranger and me come together.

"I'm probably going to trip over your feet." I warned softly, worriedly.

"Just move with me." he whispered against my ear. And I lost myself in a rhythm I'd never felt, dance moves I'd never seen, let alone tried. It was incredible. Ranger moved us with effortless grace, and we were one unit, flowing from one song into the next. "I've missed this." he admitted at one point, kissing me in the sensitive hollow below my ear. I shivered.

"This is amazing. I've never felt so...something. Dancing like this... is it how you wanted to ring in the New Year?" I asked.

Ranger pulled away, and looked me in the eye. "Babe, I know how I want to be ringing in the New Year, and believe me, we can't do that in public." he told me, as the music started again and he shifted us into another rhythm, another dance, and I lost myself again.

Ranger danced me through song, after song, after song. Neither of us wanted to leave the floor. After a particularly slow song, though, he maneuvered us towards a dark corner, keeping the rhythm perfectly as the song ended, and we disappeared into a hallway.

"Babe." he said. There was something in his eyes I'd never seen before, something I couldn't place. I could feel it though, boy could I feel it. He lowered his head and kissed me, once, softly, before leaning into me and deeping the kiss. The music continued in the background, as he explored my mouth and swept every thought from my mind.

I was completely unaware of my surroundings. That's why I shrieked into his mouth and lept five feet in the air when Grandma Rosa tapped me on the shoulder. She said something rapidly in Spanish to Ranger, and shook her head. With a final uttered "Carlito." in a tone filled with disappointment, she turned and dragged us out of the hallway and into the main room. I glanced at Ranger, and he had an expression that looked all the world like he was a kid who just had his hand slapped. I was kind of feeling that way, too.

"What did she say?" I asked, as Grandma gave him a pointed look and shoved us back to the floor. Ranger rested his forehead against mine and swept me up into another dance.

"She told me to wait a couple of hours, that you deserved better than to be ravaged in a hallway."

"I wonder..." I started, then shook my head.

"What babe?" He moved to place his head alongside, burrying his face in my hair.

"well...I kind of liked it." I admitted in a whisper.

"I know you did." I could feel his grin against my hair. "She's old fashioned, babe."

We danced the rest of the night away, and the more time went on, the more erotically charged it felt. All I wanted to do was jump his bones.

"Babe. Don't think about it." Ranger warned, and I pulled back a bit to look in his eyes. They were smouldering and all of a sudden I wanted nothing more than to get out, go home, and spend the rest of the night wrapped up in Ranger. He had to have seen it in my face. "One more." he rasped, pulling me into a fast-paced rhythm, our bodies sliding together and moving as one. It was one more incredible dance.

We found his family then, so he could say our goodbyes.

"You are not staying to ring in the New Year." his mother accused.

"No, mama. I'm tired. Steph and I will ring in the New Year, and then I am going to sleep." Pretty sure he was lying, there.

"Vaya! Hágame a grandes nietos." Grandma Rosa said gleefully in spanish. _Go! Make me Grandbabies!_

"Abuela. No en los planes" _Grandma. Not in the plans._

"Planes, planes, planes. Mi nieto, él plan demasiado. Ninguna maravilla no está todavía embarazada" Grandma shook her head sadly at him. _Plans, Plans, Plans. My grandson, he plan too much. No wonder you're not pregnant yet. _Then she turned and looked at me. "Planea tan difícilmente que se olvida cómo hacer a un bebé." _He plan so hard he forget how to make a baby._

I looked at Ranger, and he just shook his head at me, his expression pained. Grandma Rosa took my left hand then, and held it gleefully in hers. She looked down at it, and then her expression turned puzzled.

"Por qué ningún anillo? Necesita un anillo si va a tener sus bebés" _Why no ring? You need a ring if she is going to have your babies._

_Stéphanie y yo no hemos discutido a los bebés todavía_ _Stephanie and I have not discussed babies yet._

"You aren't going to marry this good, catholic girl - you are a good Catholic Girl, right?" Mama Manoso suddenly looked at me, eyes narrowed. I nodded. "Good. You aren't going to marry her and have children? She is the one for you, Carlito. No babies until you are married, this time."

"Mama. Getting Steph pregnant might be the only way to get him married. Carlos is too stupid to recognize he needs to marry her. He's too busy working." Celia rolled her eyes. Ranger looked ready to throttle her. I slipped my hand into his.

Grandma Rosa said something in spanish, and Celia's eyes lit up. "See, even Grandma agrees with me."

"Celia, Grandma did say she'd prefer to see him married first." Selena pointed out.

"But she thinks maybe it won't work like that with Carlos. She said so!"

"Babe. Let's go." Ranger said, tugging me further out the door as the argument went on. Grandma stopped us, and hugged first Ranger, then me.

"You good for Carlos." she whispered in my ear in broken english. "You care of him take."

"I will." I smiled hesitantly back at her. I hadn't understood any of the spanish, but the rest...I wished I could disappear, and if it hadn't been for Ranger refusing to let go of my one hand, I probably would have bolted. With a final round of goodbyes, we managed to escape.

"That was painful." Ranger commented as we walked to the Porsche. I slipped my arm around his waist and squeezed him closer to me.

"What, exactly, where they saying?" I asked, twisting a bit to look at him. Ranger looked, for a minute, like he wasn't going to answer, but then he told me what was probably an abbreviated version. Oh god. They want me pregnant and wearing a ring. Did I want me pregnant and wearing a ring? Did Ranger?

"Well, babe." Ranger shrugged as we stopped by the passenger door of the Porsche. "If they're going to get insistent about marrying me off, again...This time, at least, they've picked the right woman."

Omigod. He wants to marry me? My shock, and panic, must have shown on my face because Ranger chuckled and drew me into his arms, kissing the top of my head.

"Someday. Only you." he said, rubbing my back as I tried to decide if I was ok with it all.

"Do I need to drive?" I asked, as we stepped apart.

"I'm good." He told me.

"You're tired, though." I worried.

"I'm ok, babe. Mostly I just wanted you to myself." He grinned at me, walking me backwards until I was pressed up against the car. He pressed his hips into mine. "Grandma knew it, too."

"I can't believe she wants us to make babies without a wedding."

"I think they've given up on me." He shrugged, looking me in the eyes. "And they love you."

"Me?" I squeaked.

"You. Mama can't say enough about you. They would have even forgiven you if you weren't Catholic, after the impression you made at Christmas." Ranger nibbled on my ear. He leaned in and kissed me, and I forgot to worry about whatever I did to meet such approval.

"Um...Ranger? Are we actually aiming to make grandbabies?" I asked, looking to the side as he broke the kiss and leaned against me, breathing heavily.

"We could." he speculated. "If you want to."

"Um..." My mouth open and shut once, twice, three times, before Ranger kissed me, again, to knock me out of my stupor. "Maybe tomorrow." I said breathlessly as he broke away to trace my face with butterfly kisses. "I think I need to get used to that idea."

"Let's go home and practice." he suggested, his tongue tracing my jawline. He didn't have to say that twice. The trip to back Haywood was going to take forever.

123

We walked into the apartment with seven minutes until the New Year. Ranger went to the television and flipped it on to a channel showing celebrations in New York. He sank into the couch and pulled me down onto his lap. His arms around me, we sat together and watched in silence for seven minutes, until the ball dropped and the New Year was officially rung in. Even Sin joined, jumping onto my lap and washing herself imperiously.

He was still quiet as he flipped the television off, relocated Sin to the couch cushion, and carried me to the bedroom. I wanted to protest that I could walk, but instead, I rested my head on his shoulder and let him. He set me on the floor and we undressed in silence, before he scooped me against him again and laid me in the center of his bed. He stood there staring down at me, a small smile playing on his lips, his eyes dark as night.

"You're tired." I commented softly. His face was lined with exhaustion, again.

"Yes." he said.

"As tired as you were at noon yesterday." I said. He nodded, and sat down beside me. "We can do this tomorrow, you know." I reached up to touch his face.

"Now babe. We do this now. We can sleep in tomorow." He was about to kiss me when Sin came streaking out from under the bed. When did she get in?

"I don't want an audience." I told him, staring at Sin. I didn't feel like a repeat of Christmas. He straightened, and removed her from the room, closing the door behind her. Then he came back to lean over me again.

I reached up to kiss him, first, and I pulled him down to me. In no time, we were tangled up together. "The dance isn't over yet." he whispered against my ear, before kissing his way back to my lips. His tongue traced my lips, and then slipped into my mouth.

I lost track of time. Eventually, though, he broke the kiss and propped himself up, looking into my eyes, the corners of his mouth turning up ever so slightly into a tender smile.

"Happy New Year, babe."

I smiled back. "It'll be better than last year."

He nodded, and kissed me briefly, his lips light as a feather against mine. "I really do love you." he whispered.

"I love you too." It was the first time I'd said it out loud.

Ranger reared back and looked at me for the briefest of seconds, his eyes shining with things I could barely identify. "Babe." he said, and dipped his head so that his mouth met mine once again. He started to kiss his way down my body, and I was lost in the sensation. I was lost in Ranger.

It was the best New Years I could remember. A long time later, in a tangle of arms and legs, we finally slept.


End file.
